


Beyond the Words of the Child Prodigy

by zahhisio



Series: That Which Lies Beyond Words [5]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Gen, Rain, War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25765864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zahhisio/pseuds/zahhisio
Summary: Lysithea's late-night heist, which the Summoner foiled, turned into a stayover in her room.
Series: That Which Lies Beyond Words [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1591894
Comments: 1
Kudos: 9





	Beyond the Words of the Child Prodigy

**Author's Note:**

> The time I've spent with you on the battlefield has had an immeasurable effect on my skill development.  
> Academic lectures can only provide so much. There is no substitute for the focused pressure of real battle.  
> So I suppose I should thank you for calling me here to this world, then, [Summoner].  
> I hope to use every mote of strength I gain here on the battlefield back in Fódlan, so please...  
> Allow me to stay here with you a while longer, as your faithful comrade and student.

Leorus loved night walks.

Back home, circumstances would prohibit him from having such walks, be it the threat of criminal activities or the extreme light pollution; in Askr, however, such things were never there in the first place, having been replaced by the safety of the castle and the sea of stars that illuminated his sessions adequately, but not excessively. The calming silence of the night enveloped him in a soothing darkness that contrasted perfectly against a Summoner’s daily hustle and bustle and brought him the relief that he needed, too, making him fall in love with the thrill of his little escapades immediately.

He never needed his own torch to find his way around the castle, what with it having decent lighting from the wall-mounted torches. Even then, wherever the light failed to reach, four years and counting of staying in the castle allowed him to find his way through. His lessening reliance on the castle's lighting, coupled with his infamous silent steps, made him believe that half of the Order’s scary stories in the dark were most likely attributed to this habit.

Most of the time, his walks would conclude peacefully, and the slight exhaustion would help him sleep better; some nights, something interesting would happen.

* * *

On one particular night, as he walked on a higher ground that overlooked the castle’s mess hall, he spotted a faint light coming from the kitchen. His curiosity piqued, he hastened his pace, changing his direction towards the mess hall instead of going back to his room. Once he reached the hall, he slipped through the slightly open door, all the while making barely any sound.

The mess hall was as dark as it gets, lacking the warmth and festivity of dining Heroes that he had become familiar with. He paced through the hall and stopped in front of the kitchen's door; when he arrived, he caught onto a murmur coming from inside the kitchen. He stood still and focused as he tried to ascertain who the pantry’s perpetrator was.

"...cake… delicious…"

The words uttered narrowed his suspect's list down to one person. He knew there was only one who would say such things. With his doubt quelled, he gently pushed the door; it opened without so much as a creak from the door’s knob or hinge, allowing him to slip in silently under the cover of darkness.

Directly in front of him, busy stuffing her mouth with a slice of cake, was Lysithea, the Fódlan girl and a student of the Byleths. Blissfully unaware of Leorus' presence, she continued munching; after thoroughly chewing and swallowing the piece of cake, she turned around and faced the kitchen's entrance. She was unsettled by a certain ghastly presence, and her suspicion proved correct when she found the Summoner staring at her.

“Eeeeep!" The eardrum-rupturing yell that followed Lysithea’s discovery made Leorus close his ears long enough until she stopped. The sheer volume of the scream would have alerted someone if the kitchen was anywhere near the Heroes' accommodation, but luckily for her, it was not. Her face, illuminated by the moonlight seeping through the kitchen’s window, was awash with fear and embarrassment.

"T-the Summoner?! Since when?! Why did I not hear anything?”

Lysithea’s fear-fueled remark was, in a way, a compliment to him. “Stealthful as the night, and deadly as the dawn," he smirked, approaching Lysithea. The terrified young lady trembled, the cake in her hand staying put, as she stared incredulously at him.

“How's the cake?" he asked in a hushed voice. He knew well of Lysithea's love of sugary cakes, but he never knew that it would compel her to brave the darkest of nights.

“I-I was not indulging in sweets! Really!”

“That opened box...” Leorus paused, pointing at the cake’s container. “It’s saying otherwise.”

Caught red-handed, Lysithea swallowed her pride and made an attempt to bargain. “Please don't tell this to anyone else!"

“I think you’re not in the position to make orders, my dude." The attempt was applaudable, but the advantage had always been on Leorus' side. "But since you asked so nicely, I'll pretend I saw nothing. See ya!" He turned back and waved at her, ready to leave, before he felt a tiny tug on his cloak.

“W-wait!" Lysithea beckoned, a hint of nervousness present in her voice. "You’re having one of your night walks, aren’t you? Do you… Uh… Want some company?”

 _Is she still trying to bribe her way out of being busted for snacking in the midnight?_ Slightly annoyed at the idea that she did not fully trust him, he groaned. “Not interested," he said dismissively, trying to goad Lysithea. “By the look of things, you are the one who needs it.”

“How presumptuous!" she growled. "I’m perfectly fine on my own.”

“Is that so? Okaythanksbye.” He took a few more steps before yet another tug from her stopped him.

"I… Maybe you're right. I’m the one who needs company after all. I’m going back to my room, and some chatter along the way would not hurt. I promise I’ll make it worth your time!”

“Should I…" he playfully pondered, delighting in her panicked look as she awaited his decision. "Fine, then."

She let go of his cloak and beamed wide upon hearing his decision. "But," he added, pointing at her cheek, "you should wipe off that cream on your cheek before you head back, or else everyone will find out who's been stealing cakes at night.”

“Guh?!” Panicking, she rubbed her cheek, only to find nothing on it, not even a speck of whipped cream from the cake she ate. She turned to Leorus, who smiled mockingly at her and muttered,

“Sike.”

“Why, you!”

He giggled as she glared at him, annoyed that she had been played for a fool.

* * *

As luck would have it, a sudden downpour befell upon Leorus and Lysithea on their way back. Their rather laxed steps turned into a mad dash, their vision obscured by rainfall and the cloak-turned-cover hanging above them. Lysithea's room was not that far from the kitchen, but the rain made it seem like it took forever to reach there. They got in and slammed the door shut, exhausted and soaked to the bone.

Other than the addition of a personal bathroom, the students’ rooms, by the Byleths’ request, were structured to be a close replica of how their individual room looked like back in Fódlan. Lysithea's room, in particular, was all tidied up and had an assortment of porcelain figures of various animals, all of them which stared at Leorus in a way that slightly unnerved him.

“Aren’t you gonna change your clothes?" he said, trying to pay no mind to the figures as he hung his extremely wet cloak on the doorknob. "’ll be waiting outside if you do.”

“Oh, right," said Lysithea. "I'll knock when I'm done changing."

For a minute or so, Leorus waited outside. He entertained himself in the meantime by watching the rain. Though it was not much help, he did not have a choice. Soon, a knock on the front door was heard. It was his signal to come back in, and so he reentered the room, still as silent as ever and almost getting decked in his face with a book thrown by a surprised Lysithea, who had changed to her night gown and tied her hair into a ponytail.

“That was one hell of a rain," he said, lounging around with no intention to sit down. "I’m pretty sure I’ll be sneezing everywhere when tomorrow comes.”

“It’s a shame that your night walk is disrupted.”

“Shame indeed. Guess I’ll have to go back as soon as possible.” No sooner had he taken a step to the door than Lysithea stopped him with an outstretched hand.

“Wait!”

“Huh?”

"Uh, can you be my roommate?" she asked meekly, fidgeting her fingers. "Just for the night?"

Detecting a hint of shyness-induced hesitation from her, he smirked and went back to his teasing mode. "Scared, ain'tcha?"

"I'm not!" Lysithea half-yelled. She glanced aside, seemingly unsure of herself, before continuing, "Well, uh… Okay, I confess! I'm scared of ghosts. But above all, your unwarranted presence in the kitchen just now terrified me even more! There, I said it." She huffed and crossed her arms.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"It's not!" She yelled even harder, and the laugh coming from Leorus only served to irritate her more. "In any case," she said, "I’ve decided that you will be my roommate for the night. I hope you have no complaints!”

Pointed at by the young girl, Leorus surrendered; he clammed up and shrugged, swapping his usual snappy comebacks for a silent compliance to the obviously scared Lysithea's wish. At the very least, he could say that it was not by his own volition that he decided to accompany her through the night.

Now that she had an impromptu roommate, Lysithea was eager to ward off the silence and boredom. She hopped out of her bed and grabbed a book out of a stack of it. It had nothing on its cover but a stylized writing of her name, signifying her ownership of it. “While you’re here,” she said, flipping through its pages, “I need your input on the notes I've written about today's skirmish…"

Her finger parted the book on one particular page that had a diagram in it. Leorus immediately recognized it as the formation he had deployed Lysithea in earlier that day, during a live combat exercise to quell bandits that had been disrupting a remote village in Askr. The amount of notes and scribbles in her notebook surprised him; they were far too many, too detailed and too spot-on for someone of Lysithea’s age. He kept his observations to himself, however, and obliged to their discussion.

With the afternoon training as their main conversational topic, the two talked throughout the night. They exchanged ideas and inputs about the team on hand, and time and time again the young girl’s brilliance shone through as she came up with ideas and criticisms that had eluded even him, Each time he would stare at her incredulously, making her stare back in confusion, not realizing that he was rendered speechless by her smarts.

Lost in the excitement of brainstorming, the two only realized that the clock had struck midnight when Lysithea covered her mouth to yawn. Indeed, the wall clock showed that it was a few minutes past twelve.

"Sleepy already?" asked Leorus.

"I'm afraid so,” answered Lysithea as she wiped the single drop of tear forming in the corner of her right eye. “I'm quite full from the cake just now, so that might have made me drowsy."

Leorus glanced at the window. While the rain had slightly receded, his promise to Lysithea effectively locked him in the room for a night. “Well then,” he said, getting up and relocating to the single wooden chair in front of Lysithea’s study desk while putting back the book they had used to the stack, “let’s call it a night.”

Lysithea remained unmoved from her sitting position. "I have to thank you for your insights, Summoner,” she said sincerely, and Leorus turned around to face her. “You saw many things that I don’t and helped me broaden my views."

"That goes both ways. I'm glad that you liked the real-life exercises, though. I still have qualms about sending children into the battlefield, so…"

"Do you think that I can't defend myself out there?" Lysithea’s tone harshened. Leorus was reminded of Alfonse’s warning about treating Lysithea as a child - as correct as it was, it was abundantly clear that she was irked by such treatment.

"I have my own reservations about such things, whether you can or not." He chose his words carefully, not wanting to worsen her opinion of him. "And from the looks of it, you can."

To his relief, she merely let out an exasperated sigh. "...You know, I wanted to get mad at you just now, but I can't seem to find the will to do so."

Spared from her tirade, he relaxed a little and rotated his chair, leaning against its headrest as he continued speaking. "I was told by Alfonse that you hate being belittled, moreso when you're treated as a child."

"Prince Alfonse…” Lysithea’s voice trailed off, the memories of Alfonse’s insensitivities coming back to her. Other than the times where his lack of tact annoyed her, she never held any hatred for him - on the other hand, while the Summoner might have spoken out of line for her, she did not feel insulted in the first place.

“Yes, you're right. But I know that even though you might call me a child, you still trust me with your fights. You're like the Professor in that regard, and I thank you for that."

"Wait," chimed in Leorus. "Byleth sends you out to wars?"

"Yes, it's part of our curriculum."

"Don't you find it terrifying?"

"Not in the slightest."

Far from being afraid or hesitant, Lysithea's words sounded resolute to him. Was she just numb to the horrors of war thanks to her professors’ efforts? Or was she just that eager to prove her hard work to everyone else, even through means as violent as real-life battles? Slowly, everything about her started to make sense. Her eagerness to prove herself in battles, her rejection of dependence… She reminded him of Lucina of the older days, who wanted to bear the heavy burden of her dark future by herself. However, while hers was easily shared among the Shepherds, it seemed that Lysithea's case was more personal, and thus would need more effort to overcome. Either way, her statement about him trusting her with the Order's fights lingered in Leorus’ thoughts. He did see her as yet another manpower for the Order, but he never expected her to be _grateful_ for it. He blamed it on the different thought process of him, who lived a life of peace, and her, who lived a life of turmoil.

"In any case, you have my thanks, Summoner,” repeated Lysithea. “I hope to use every mote of strength I gain back in Fódlan, so… I hope I can continue having your support and guidance, as your comrade and student."

_Well, at least the gratitude is there. Now, to find out the reason..._

"Heh. You're quite motivated. Any reason for that?"

Lysithea tapped her chin with a finger, deliberating for a while before deflecting his curiosity with a shake of her head. "That's a story for another time,” she said.

While he had treaded carefully in an effort to unravel the white-haired young lady’s emotional baggage, it seemed that she was not ready to pour out her heart to him. _As it should be_ , Leorus thought.

“Anyway, sleep is waiting!” Lysithea exclaimed suddenly, yawning again as soon as she finished her sentence. “Are you okay with sleeping on the chair, Summoner?"

"With a table as headrest? I'll have you know that I was born in it, molded by it."

"If you say so, then,” she said, plopping onto her bed. “Good night, Leo-"

The sudden mention of his name made him crane his head towards Lysithea. "Huh?" The young girl, realizing her slip-up, blushed wildly and blurted out, "I-I mean, good night, Summoner!" before turning around and facing away from him, clearly hiding her embarrassment.

"Sleep tight, Lysi," Leorus chuckled.

With a blow, Lysithea extinguished the only source of light in her room. A sudden, enveloping darkness followed soon, accompanying the incessant patter of raindrops hitting the ground that echoed throughout the room.

With his arms crossed and placed on the table, acting as a makeshift headrest, Leorus began to doze off. While he could not take his mind off whatever might be plaguing Lysithea at that very moment, he was soon lulled into a dreamless sleep, unperturbed by either his thoughts or his arms, both of which were starting to cramp.

* * *

The rain had stopped when morning came. Still drowsy and fatigued, Leorus groggily raised his head to find himself alone in Lysithea’s room. The young girl must certainly have gone for her daily routine, not bothered by the fact that she left a man in her room alone. On her bed was his cloak, dried and folded. Delighted by her help, he almost went back to his room without reading a piece of paper placed right on top of the folded cloak. In it was a note, written with a neat font:

_Please meet me in the library as soon as you wake up. I have more questions for you!_

_-Lysithea_

With a sigh, Leorus rose up, wore his cloak, and stretched his arms to the side before heading to repay his debt of gratitude. It seemed that he would be stuck with Lysithea for a little bit longer, hopefully as one of the few that she would unhesitantly rely on... when the time comes.

**Author's Note:**

> *Appeared in r/FireEmblemHeroes Weekly Writing Thread on August 4, 2020, under the title Overlooking View.
> 
> I'm a sucker for kids who try to act tough and the 'limited time to live' trope, and guess what? Lysithea checks both criteria! On the other hand, however, it was a challenge to write from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about Three Houses (as it was with Dimitri's piece), so again, I hope I did well.


End file.
